Klugman gained fame for playing slovenly sports writer Oscar Madison in the sitcom "The Odd Couple," - a role he also had played on Broadway - and then as a crusading coroner in the crime drama "Quincy, M.E".

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"The Odd Couple," based on Neil Simon's play about two disparate divorced men forced to share an apartment, ran for five years, starting in 1970, but was never a hit during that time. Only through reruns did Klugman and co-star Randall, who played neat-freak Felix Unger, leave their mark as one of US television's great sitcom teams.

Randall died in 2004.

In Hollywood, Klugman had notable supporting roles in such films as "12 Angry Men" (1957), "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962) and "Goodbye, Columbus" (1969).

He won the first of three Emmys in 1964 for an appearance on the legal drama "The Defenders". Klugman and Randall each received Emmy nominations for each of the "Odd Couple" seasons, with Klugman winning in 1971 and 1973 and Randall in 1975.

Klugman also earned four Emmy nominations for NBC's "Quincy, M.E". His character, who stepped out of his role as medical examiner to solve murders that flummoxed the Los Angeles police, never had a first name.

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